Hair strand dividing and combing device



Jan. 28, 1958 P. J. KESTERSON Ema. 3 L

\ HAIR STRAND DIVIDING AND COMBING DEVICE Filed June 8, 1956 C /5 /5 V V INVENTORS PEARLJKESTERSON y Jam/,4. PADJEN United States Patent HAIR STRAND DIVIDING AND COMBING DEVICE Pearl J. Kesterson, Los Angeles, Calif., and John A. Padjen, Evanston, Wyo.; said Padjen assigno'r of one-fourth to said Pearl 3. Kesterson and one-fourth to Alvia G. Thorpe, Long Beach, Calif.

Application June 8, 1956, Serial No. 590,230

1 Claim. (Cl. 132-149) This invention relates generally to the art of permanent waving and setting of the hair as practiced in beauty parlors and in the home, and more particularly to means for use in performing such operations.

An object of this invention is to provide a device particularly adapted, although not necessarily, for use in preparing permanently waved hair for setting in individual curls, the device being structurally characterized by means adapted to support the device on a hand of the operator and to enable a large strand of waved hair to be divided or separated into small parts or portions and each individually combed into a smooth, flat strand with the utmost ease and dispatch, for winding on a finger of the operator into a curl which may then he slipped 01f of the finger against the head and finally be secured in curl formation by a spring clip or bobby pin, all to the end of greatly facilitating and expediting preparation of the waved hair for the setting operation, by eliminating the need for a large and cumbersome rat tail comb which must be picked up, manipulated and laid down for each curl, with the attending Waste of the operators time and energy.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the above described character which embodies a magnetic element adapted to hold spring clips and/or bobby pins on the device so that such fasteners will be conveniently close at hand for the operator to apply to each curl as completed, thus eliminating the present time-consuming practice of reaching for the fasteners from a supply thereof in a tray or some other relatively remote support.

With these and other objects in view, this invention resides in the combinations, arrangements and functional relationships of elements as set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views illustrating the hair strand dividing and combing device embodying this invention applied to the hand of an operator;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the hair strand dividing and combing device;

Figure 4 is a view of the hair strand dividing and combing device in side elevation; and

Figure 5 is a view of the hair strand dividing and combing device in end elevation.

Referring specifically to the drawings, this invention in its illustrated embodiment may be constructed of plastic, metal or other suitable material to comprise a support or body portion S in the form of two contiguous and parallel finger-receiving stalls or sleeve portions 11 and 12, the former being the longer of the two and being flush with the portion 12 at one end as shown in Figure 3.

The open sides of the sleeve portions 11 and 12 are directly opposed, and from one closed side of the sleeve portion 11 projects the back member 13 of a small comb C the length of which is co-extensive and in parallelism 2,821,203 Patented Jan. 28, 1958 with the length of the sleeve portion 11. The teeth 15 of the comb C which are relatively fine for finish combing, project radially from the portion 11 as clearly shown in Figure 5.

The back member 13 of the comb C is prolonged beyond the teeth 15 at one end of the comb and projects beyond the corresponding end of the sleeve portion 11 to form an elongated strand dividing or separating member D which is tapered longitudinally as indicated at 17 to reduce in width towards its free, rounded end 18.

Fixed by a suitable adhesive or other fastening means to the support S at the side of the sleeve portions 11 and 12 from which the comb projects is a magnetic element in the form of a permanent magnet 20 which is of sutficient strength to attract and hold several conventional curl clips 21 such as is shown for example in broken lines in Figure 5 or bobby pins (not shown) should the latter be used on the curls in lieu of the spring clips.

The operation of the invention is as follows:

The device is applied to the hand of an operator by slipping the support S between two adjoining fingers of the hand so that the fingers are received in the respective sleeve portions 11 and 12, with the comb C projecting from the inner side of the hand and the dividing member D projecting beyond the ends of the fingers, all as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Several of the clips 21 or bobby pins may be applied to the magnet 20 so as to be held thereon for use as needed. Assuming that a customers hair has been waved and is ready for setting, the operator separates a small portion of a large strand from the remainder thereof by running the dividing member D through the strand, following which the separated portion of the hair is combed smooth and fiat by using the comb C, to thus form a small, flat strand which is wound on a finger and then slipped ofi against the head so as to provide a flat curl which is then secured in curl formation by one of the clips 21 which is conveniently accessible to the operator on the magnet 20.

The remainder of the original large strand is divided up into small portions by the member D, which portions are then formed into curls and secured by clips as above described. This operation is continued until all the waved hair has been formed into curls for setting.

From the above description, it will be manifest that by the provision of this device, the preparation of waved hair for setting is greatly facilitated and expedited, as the operator can conveniently and rapidly divide and comb the waved strands of hair without the necessity of picking up and laying down a large rat tail comb, with the attending loss of time and waste of effort. Furthermore, the supply of clips 21 close at hand on the magnet 20 materially adds to the utility of the device, as the operator is relieved of the present time-consuming practice of picking up a clip or hobby pin from a tray or other relatively remote support for application to each curl as same is completed.

It will be appreciated that by the provision of the second finger-receiving portion 12 of the support S that the latter will be positively prevented from rotating on that finger which is received in the portion 11, whereby to insure that the device may be manipulated to divide and comb the hair with a minimum of eifort on the part of the operator.

We claim:

A dividing and combing device for use in setting permanently waved hair comprising: a support adapted to be inserted between adjoining fingers of the hand of an operator and having sleeve portions receiving the fingers to mount the support on the hand; a comb having a back member extending along the length of one of said sleeve portions at one side thereof and provided with a series of relatively fine teeth projecting perpendicularly with respect to the length of said sleeve portions; a narrow, elongated dividing member forming a continuation of one endof saidback member so as to project longitudinally for the major portion of its length beyond an end of said sleeve portions for manipulation by the operator in easily dividing strands of hair accurately preparatory to other operations upon the hair; and a permanent magnet fixed to said sleeve portions at the side thereof opposite said comb and presenting a fiat surface in a exposed position to pick up and hold magnetizable spring References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED sTATEs PATENTS Berry Mar. 14, 1939 King Apr. 11, 1939 Cerisano May 30, 1939 

